The plenary session of the City Council of La Laguna will debate, in its next session in April, a motion to request the Cabildo de Tenerife to start the procedure for the declaration of Well of Cultural Interest (BIC) to Easter lagoon“in view of the outstanding historical, artistic, cultural and heritage values it possesses, and which are more than five centuries old, being the oldest Holy Week in the entire Archipelago”, as stated in the text of the motion proposed by the socialist municipal group.
The mayor of La Laguna, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, explained that the initiative arises in common agreement with the Board of Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods of the municipality, understanding “that our Holy Week has unique characteristics that justify a declaration of this nature, which guarantees its protection and promote its dissemination.
According to the text of the motion, Holy Week in La Laguna has the status of being the oldest in the Archipelago, thanks to the fact that San Cristóbal de La Laguna was the first capital of the island of Tenerife and the former capital of the Canary Islands. The city also houses the headquarters of the Nivariense Diocese since February 1819.
Cultural values of La Laguna
Added to this uniqueness are the special cultural, artistic and heritage values ”of a celebration that is lived with great devotional intensity, but that transcends the strictly religious dimension, and that has been transmitted over more than 500 years”.
In addition, the motion highlights the characteristics of Holy Week in Lagunera. Among them are the importance of the processional parades, with a rich theological meaning, but also an abundant traditional and cultural symbology. Another of the outstanding aspects is the important number of brotherhoods and brotherhoods that participate in this celebration, the result of a social movement that has lasted throughout the centuries.
The great patrimonial, artistic and historical value of the island and foreign religious imagery and other elements consubstantial to the cult, such as goldsmithing, constitute another of the singularities of Holy Week in Laguna, as well as the condition of being celebrated in a World Heritage city. of Spain, which confers an exceptional value to the setting in which processions and religious celebrations take place.
The motion also recalls the rich catalog of images of great historical-artistic value that make up the processional steps, as well as the role played by the brotherhoods and brotherhoods in the conservation and care of this imagery, as is evident when analyzing the beginnings and subsequent evolution of these entities after their foundation at the end of the fifteenth century.
The reestablishment in 1877 of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna and the reconstruction of the new Holy Cathedral Church in 1913 are dates that mark a resurgence of the life of the brotherhoods in the city, whose role was essential for the configuration of the Week Santa as it is known today, with the creation of the great procession in 1927, the early morning procession in 1933 or the first proclamation of Holy Week in 1949. It would be in 1953 when the Board of Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods of San Cristóbal was created of La Laguna, recognized by the City Council in 2017 with the city’s Gold Medal.
